•
Rating: After the release of "The Mountain," probably the best prog album of 2013, I was openly dreaming of Haken coming to my area. I was quite curious to see what effect their diverse and unpredictable music would have live. That dream came true a few months ago when their arrival in Milan was announced along with the French band Lazuli; initially scheduled at the Factory (located in the East area of Milan) and subsequently moved to the Live Forum in Assago (a southern suburb of Milan, just a few kilometers from home), a small venue located in the same building as the much more well-known and spacious Mediolanum Forum, often a stage for performances by emerging bands or those still quite niche.
Given the numerous praises and enthusiastic reviews that the band has received from prog lovers since the release of their first album "Aquarius" in 2010, I expected a more or less substantial turnout, almost on par with that of Marillion and Transatlantic. Instead, when I arrive in front of the gates, I see few people and no queue; then after a while, I even start counting the attendees and spot about seventy; in the end, there were just over a hundred of us at the concert.
While we were waiting, we could hear Haken in the venue rehearsing: right there I realized it was going to be a great evening! The stage is set quite low, but I’m lucky enough to position myself less than a meter from the barrier. Luckily, they don't keep us waiting long; Lazuli arrives on stage more or less promptly. Few people know or listen to them, but their performance is actively absorbed by the audience. The band's offer is interesting: a modern prog-rock enriched with influences from folk and world music and with exquisite electronic experiments sung in French. Decisive elements in making their proposal unique are some instruments used: the marimba, an electrically distorted French horn, and the innovative Léode - a kind of synth played by sliding the finger on a neck similar to a guitar's - created by the musician Claude Leonetti himself after losing the use of his left arm in a motorcycle accident. Moreover, the singer shows himself to be very close to the audience and even chooses to speak Italian to present the songs, doing it more or less well. The people seem satisfied and follow the performance with great interest, clapping and even dancing to the more folk-tinged parts. In the end, the band doesn't just play the simple supporter role but behaves as a true co-headliner, playing for almost an hour and a half without the audience loudly preaching them to hurry up and make way for Haken. The band leaves amid applause after the final jam played by the whole band on the marimba. I imagine many jotted down their name in their notebook and would be eager to explore them more (myself included).
Personally, I was a bit worried essentially for one reason: I feared that Lazuli's long performance would take away space from Haken, forcing them to propose a skimpy setlist like at the first tour date in Mexico City, but fortunately, it wasn't the case.
And so Haken takes the stage just about a quarter of an hour before 11. They introduce, as on the album, with the slow "The Path" followed by "Atlas Stone," which warmly introduces the audience to the evening's atmosphere. Then they move on to "In Memoriam," which further warms up the spirits with its powerful riffs. It's then time for a leap to the previous album "Visions" with the track "Insomnia," which, though not one of the album's top tracks, fits live performances very well, probably thanks to its bright and powerful melody - especially in the chorus - as well as its instrumental section that offers the pleasure of watching the keyboardist strike a Jordan Rudess pose and engage in dialogue with the guitar, as well as its video game effect sustained by the claps of those present. The band jumps further back to their debut "Aquarius" and performs one of their best tracks, "Streams," another track that acquires vigor live thanks to its variety of melodies and instrumental passages that we can admire better here. They return to "The Mountain" with "Falling Back To Earth," whose fast rhythms allow some to hop around a bit, though the most interesting moment for visual appeal is obviously the instrumental part, where we can admire, for example, the guitar tapping and in any case the two guitarists deftly playing their 8-strings. Another leap back to "Visions" this time with "Shapeshifter," also able to moderately stir some with its feisty guitar riffs. Since the tour marks the debut of new bassist Conner Green, he is granted a small solo showcase, immediately followed by "Pareidolia," a powerful track well-suited for the stage but which loses a bit without the percussion parts and without the bouzouki. And now the track I often indicate as the best of "The Mountain," namely "Cockroach King," for which the audience responds with enthusiasm; another track that proves to be a great showcase for the musicians, especially regarding the keyboards, with the back-and-forth between the duty keyboardist Diego Tejeida and the guitarist-turned-keyboardist Richard Henshall. More was expected from "Somebody"; or rather, the track lends itself excellently with its warm and delicate melody, but I would have expected a more present and united crowd on this type of piece that usually engages those present considerably.
And we get to the encore moment. The band opens with "Because It's There" after having entrusted the initial choirs to a tape, with the band returning to the stage and the singer urging the audience to sing; the keyboardist has a mouth harmonica during the chorus and allows himself to change some sounds; in any case, this time the audience is decidedly more present. Everyone screams "Visions," both for the interest in hearing it live and because they take for granted that the closure would be entrusted to this suite (considering previous dates' setlists); and indeed "Visions" it is, and the band performs it in its entirety supported by a more than ever present audience. In the final guitar riffs, guitarist Charlie Griffiths approaches and grants a few picks and even a few strums to the fans closest to the barriers (I was practically a step away from soliciting his 8-string). It's now half past midnight; it seems over, but the audience makes it clear they are not in a rush to go home, and some advance requests; most ask for "Celestial Elixir" from the first album... and so the band responds! Like in Barcelona, another 17 minutes live, with even some dancing during the almost polka-style interludes that make this suite particular and yet once again the audience is in high spirits!
This closes out a really lovely evening at nearly one in the morning. Missing an episode of "Un medico in famiglia" (watched later on the RAI website) was truly worth it. Haken did not disappoint, I feel that seeing them live was almost mandatory to fully appreciate their technical and creative qualities. The sound was highly faithful to the studio versions, yet the group's live qualities sometimes seem even more appreciable. The live wasn't spectacular, no monitors behind the band, just an image of the album and another two canvases enveloping the drummer, plus a few cute puppets on the keyboardist's setup and on the bass peg... because the true show was delivered by the musicians, especially the two guitarists and their unpredictable movements on their 8-strings, as well as the bass player's tapping and slaps (with a 6-string bass). Even the singer, though less spectacular, seemed fully capable of engaging the audience; he moved well on stage and displayed a fair amount of theatricality. The sound appeared powerful but never noisy, the melody never suffocated by the guitars as can often happen in a concert of a band that partially presents metal elements.
It's truly a shame about the low turnout; as mentioned before, I expected more people, but I feel absolutely proud to be one of those just over a hundred who were there, indeed, perhaps feeling even cooler knowing to be among the few in Italy to have come into contact with such a creative band and to have appreciated their qualities while everyone else settles for filling arenas for Emma.
In any case, the moral of the story is: you all deserved to be there!
Loading comments slowly
